Small Victories
by Lady Kes
Summary: A missing scene after Arastoo drives Cam home at the end of 11x13. Spoilers through 11x13, obviously.


She'd seen and been through a lot of creepy things in her life, but this was definitely one of the creepiest. The thought of going home while knowing that she might be watched, be targeted? It made her want to sleep in the bed in the Egyptology exhibit, had she not known exactly what Angela and Hodgins had done on it at least three times.

When Arastoo came in and asked after Dr. Brennan, she couldn't really stop herself from asking if he'd drive her home. She thought he'd be willing and she was glad that he was. He'd even offered to stay with her for a little while if she needed, which was just like him. He'd always been kind, compassionate, considerate... To say that she wasn't over him was probably an understatement.

He'd been very neutral about the news that she wasn't going to be seeing Sebastian anymore, although she was pretty sure that mentally he'd been doing one of the dances she'd seen on the Persian music videos he'd shown her. When he'd offered his hand after that, it had probably just been out of habit. They always walked like that, and she was definitely not going to read anything into it. She did, however, take his hand, and she couldn't help but notice that it was just as warm and comforting as it had always been.

She'd always been strong, always been the one that didn't need anyone, but her friends at the Jeffersonian and especially Arastoo had reminded her over and over that it wasn't a bad thing to need someone or to let people help. It was why she'd asked him to drive her home, after all. When they got to her building, he pulled into her guest parking spot just like he had many times before.

"Thank you," she said again as she prepared to get out of the car. The conversation had been comfortable after the first few minutes of the drive, but then they'd never really had a problem talking. They had more in common than it might seem, and what they didn't have in common they could learn about. They both enjoyed that and it had been the foundation of the friendship that had led to the relationship.

"Would you mind if I came up?" he asked, and she probably gave him a deer in headlights sort of look, because he kept talking.

"It'll make me feel better to know that there's no one in your condo. That's all I meant."

"Oh, uh, okay," she said, and tried not to melt at how much he took care of her, even when it had to be awkward and painful for him to be here now.

When she unlocked the door, she stepped back so he could precede her. She kept things pretty neat unless she hadn't been back to it except to eat and sleep in a week or so, which fortunately wasn't the case this time. He'd seen it worse, anyway. They'd practically been living together at one point.

"If you want, you can put your coat," she started to say, then smiled a little sheepishly. "Uh. The same place it's always gone, in the coat closet that hasn't moved."

"Thanks," he said, and hung his coat up before looking around the living room. "Did you ever have that security system installed?"

"No, I never got around to it, actually. And now I think I'm glad, because those cameras are always linked to something," she admitted. It was possible she'd never trust anything cloud-based in her life ever again.

"Yeah, I agree. How long do you need me to stay tonight?" he asked readily, and she could tell that he absolutely meant it. He was willing to stay as long as she wanted or needed him to be there. She had been checking her bedroom and bathroom, which were both clear, but she stopped when he asked her that.

"You got me home and it's clear that there's no one here, so I am absolutely fine," she assured him. "I don't want to interrupt any more of your evening than I already have."

"Cam," he said lovingly but chidingly, and her shoulders drooped. It was hard to hear her name said like that and know that they were just friends. Well, officially, anyway. Which reminded her, actually, that she should tell Arastoo about being just friends with Sebastian now.

"I got involved too soon with Sebastian," she said in a rush, as if he was going to interrupt her, but he didn't say anything. He just looked at her and let her say what she needed to.

"I even told him I thought it might be too soon and that I'd just gotten out of a serious relationship. He didn't push me, but I thought, well, maybe I should just, you know, get myself out there again. See how it goes, like Angela suggested. There's always got to be a first relationship after a another one ends. And it turns out it was way too soon. So I'm not going to see him again," she explained.

"You don't have to explain yourself to me," Arastoo told her, and held out his hand again. She took it and he gently pulled her down to sit with him on the couch. He let go of her hand as soon as they were seated, although she wouldn't have minded if he hadn't.

"I love you, but I don't own you. I never have and I've never wanted to. You don't have to tell me anything you don't want to say," he assured her, then glanced down and back up again with a crooked little smile. "Which doesn't mean I'm not jealous of him, but you are your own person. If he made you happy, then so be it."

"I'm not sitting here with him contemplating whether I'm going to be strung up like a marionette by a creepy serial killer, Arastoo," she pointed out.

"You're not," he agreed, and slid his arm around her shoulder. He did it slowly, so she could stop him if she wanted to, but she didn't want to. Instead she leaned into him with a soft sigh. She'd always fit so well into his shoulder. Into his everything, actually, if she was being honest with herself.

"So, how long do you need me to stay tonight?" he repeated, and she chuckled.

"I feel ridiculous asking you to sleep on the couch, but I don't know if I'm ready for you to stay in my bedroom. And the guest room is a total mess right now."

She wasn't looking at him, but she felt him draw in a breath at the mention of staying in her bedroom. That aspect of their relationship had always been very good, at least once she'd realized that his religious beliefs didn't stop him from engaging in it.

"What if I promise to keep my hands to myself?" Arastoo teased, and her heart beat a little faster. That particular tone of voice usually preceded a kiss, although it couldn't now.

"I'm not worried about your hands," she risked saying, and glanced up at him through her lashes. "I'm worried about mine."

It was possibly too flirtatious for this moment, but she wanted him. She wanted him and she knew very well that she should absolutely not do anything about it. It might be a rebound from a rebound, it was certainly terrible timing considering what she'd discovered today, and they had a lot more talking they needed to do before they did anything like that.

He seemed to know that, though, as much as his eyes said he also wanted to move things to the bedroom. He just kissed her on top of her head and settled her back into his shoulder.

"Well, I'm glad to know I'm not the only one suffering here," he replied. "Let's see if that Farsi news program is on so I can translate the boring political discussions for you. If you're still not sleepy after that, I'll make you some chamomile tea."

She smiled as Arastoo picked up the remote and searched through the five hundred satellite channels to find the one he wanted. She still felt completely unnerved by the actions of Puppito, and she was still very worried about Hodgins and Angela, but this part of her life was a little better than it had been a few days ago. It was a first step. There would need to be many more, but it was a first step. She'd take that small victory right now. 


End file.
